


Rising Moon

by xSophie2x



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Band, Jimmy is in a band, M/M, Modern AU, Music, Thomas has self discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 05:56:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20353501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSophie2x/pseuds/xSophie2x
Summary: Tom takes Thomas to a club for a surprise. Turns out, despite his past heartbreak, Thomas might like the surprise more than he originally planned.





	Rising Moon

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for this fandom and with this pairing, and a modern au. I'm a bit nervous about this but hope it's enjoyable anyway.

# ‘I still don’t know what I’m doing here,’ Thomas said, over the loud music that was playing from inside the club as it reached his ears.

‘Don’t worry,’ Tom replied, chuckling, as he gestured for Thomas to follow him inside. ‘It’s a surprise. Come on.’

Thomas frowned at that, but followed Tom inside the club anyway. He didn’t like surprises, there was no doubt about that, but he knew that when Tom had a plan, it was next to impossible to try and talk him out of it, so he might as well try something he normally wouldn’t. It was busy in the club though, hot and filled with bright pink laser lights that hurt his eyes, and there were already too many sweaty people jumping up against each other. Thomas sighed, and made his way over to the bar to take a seat next to Tom.

‘What do you think!?’ Tom exclaimed proudly over the loud noise, though Thomas had to admit to himself that he had no idea what he was talking about. It just seemed like every average club in the area, although he had to admit that the one thing that was probably better than usual, was the music.

Thomas shrugged, as he ordered a beer from the bartender. ‘About what!?’ he shouted back over the loud sound of the music. ‘You’re gonna have to be more specific!’

Tom chuckled, turning around on his barstool with a proud look on his face, and nodded towards the front of the club, to the wall directly across the entrance. ‘I mean the band, of course!’ he shouted.

For the first time that night, Thomas really heard the music. He had to squeeze his eyes shut a little, but he could see the band playing not too far from the bar on a little stage, and realized almost everyone around them was screaming at them and cheering them on. And Thomas couldn’t blame them. They really did sound good.

‘You didn’t tell me you found a new band!’ he exclaimed.

‘That was the surprise!’ Tom yelled back, a grin on his face. ‘But this one is different than the ones I usually sign! They’re very talented, they’re good friends and get along really well, and I can tell that they really enjoy playing their music together! But they’ve been doing it for years without getting discovered, and I thought it was a real shame!’

Thomas nodded, and even if he heard Tom was saying, he didn’t take his eyes off of the band playing in front of them. He was sure of one thing: they really did enjoy playing music together.

The first thing he saw was the drummer, who was slightly taller than him and had short curly brown hair. Thomas could see the glee and excitement in his eyes as he banged his drumsticks against the drums, and the other boys were just as happy to be there as he was. Left on the stage stood a tall boy with red hair and a serious, concentrated look on his face as he played his guitar, but the corners of his mouth were slightly turned upwards. On the other side of the stage, on the right side, stood the bassist. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and stared at the other boys with a happy, content look on his face.

The thing that really took Thomas’ breath away, though, was the singer standing in the middle of the stage with a guitar casually hung around his neck. He had bright blue eyes that seemed to light up with excitement, blonde, almost gold hair, and seemed to have the best time out of all of them. Right now he had his hands loosely wrapped around the microphone and screamed into it with all that he had. Every now and then he looked at the two boys beside him, and Thomas got to see the giant grin on his face. He seemed completely in his element, and all Thomas could think of was how glad he was that the boy had found a job that seemed to be absolutely perfect for him, his calling, and how perfect he looked standing there.

‘They’re good, aren’t they!?’ Tom yelled over the music, interrupting Thomas’ trance. With difficulty, and a slight bit of annoyance that he had to, he dragged his gaze away from the boy in the middle of the stage, enjoying all the attention he got, and looked back at Tom. ‘Yeah!’ He yelled back. ‘They’re really good. But all they’re all still so young, younger than us! Makes me feel a bit sad that I haven’t achieved as much as they have, when I’ve had more time to try something than they did!’

‘Oh, please!’ Tom laughed. ‘The company would collapse without you there to hold it up. It’s not your fault old Carson doesn’t realize that!’

Thomas smiled, but he couldn’t deny that it stung a little. He had worked at Grantham Industries for years now, and had only climbed up the ladder of career a little bit since he first started working there.

‘Don’t think about that now! We’re free tonight, and here for a little party!’ Tom interrupted his thoughts, while pushing his beer towards him over the bar.

Thomas nodded; Tom was right. Someday he would get the promotion and approval he deserved, but tonight he was just here to support his friend for signing probably his best and most successful band.

‘I’ll drink to that!’ he said. ‘To them!’

‘To them!’ Tom repeated with a laugh, before taking a big sip of his own beer.

Thomas turned back to the stage, where the ginger boy on the left was playing a guitar solo, but his eyes drifted back to the singer soon enough. He was cheering the crowd on for his friend, and Thomas felt the corners of his mouth go up just slightly.

If that was not the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, he didn’t know what was.

It startled him then, though, when the singer suddenly made direct eye-contact with him and had a small grin appear on his face. He winked and Thomas flushed, his heartrate picking up, and he took another sip from his beer, as he couldn’t believe that that was actually directed at him. Next to him, Tom laughed, and poked him in the side, making Thomas wince. ‘Seems like somebody likes you!’ he exclaimed.

Thomas shook his head. ‘Whatever,’ he grumbled, without looking up. ‘He probably just has some girl somewhere in the crowd, you’ll see.’

But Tom just smiled as if he didn’t believe him, as if he knew something more. ‘Hm. We’ll see about that.’

Thomas groaned, annoyed by the fact that Tom always seemed to want to know better, but despite that, he didn’t know what he meant with his strange comment. He didn’t ask though, instead focused on the band at the front of the club again, and listened to the next song they started to play.

They really were good, and Thomas couldn’t help but think how nice it was if that wink and that little smile the singer gave him, really were meant for him. The thought made him happy, so much so that his heart beat faster in his chest and a smirk grew on his face, no matter how he tried to put a stop to it.

Next to him, Thomas noticed, that Tom was looking at him with a curious look on his face, and even though he couldn’t deny that it made him a little uncomfortable, Thomas didn’t pay attention to it.

Instead he just enjoyed the song that the band played, enjoyed the sound of the voice of the singer and how beautiful he looked in the bright pink lights of the club, without ever admitting how much he suddenly liked him already. It would only cause trouble, that was for sure, raise a whole lot unnecessary, unpleasant questions, teasing, weird looks and hushed, curious comments behind his back.

Not to mention the guy probably had a girl somewhere in the audience, cheering for him right now. Thomas wasn’t gonna spoil that, no, he would just admire from afar, like he always did, because he did not need more heartbreak. He could do that.

As the song came to an end, Tom leaned in towards him and whispered close to his ear: ‘This is their last song tonight, but I’ve got one more surprise for you.’

‘One more?’ Thomas answered sarcastically with his eyebrows raised and his arms folded. ‘Oh wow, I’m not sure I can take that much excitement.'

Tom snorted, but took a last sip from his beer as he gave Thomas a push against his shoulder. ‘Cool it, don’t be like that! You’ll like this, trust me.’

Thomas nodded, as he was sure he would, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face. It was just way too much fun to tease Tom a little sometimes, and he did the same to him. That was just how it worked for them. But he liked this first surprise that Tom had had for him, so why not the second as well?

Then an excited screech interrupted Thomas’ thoughts, and he saw two girls pushing their way through the crowd and running towards him and Tom.

‘Tom!’ the taller one of the two exclaimed cheerfully. ‘You made it!’

Tom put his beer bottle back on the bar and laughed as the girl, who had obviously had a little much too drink herself, threw her arms around him and hugged him. ‘Yeah, Ivy, I made it.’

‘It’s so good to see you, we weren’t sure if you were gonna be here,’ the other girl said happily.

Thomas made sure to move away from the scene a little bit, so wasn’t caught in the middle of the chaos with tipsy and obviously clingy girls and left Tom to deal with it alone, but of course it didn’t last long. Tom, as loyal and annoying as he was, always made sure to take Thomas down with him in a scene of chaos.

‘Ivy, Daisy,’ Tom said. ‘This is Thomas. I took him here tonight to see the band.’

The two girls turned towards Thomas curiously and Thomas groaned internally, hoping he could’ve stayed out of it and avoid the introduction, but he forced a smile on his face and told himself to be polite.

‘Hi,’ the girl he assumed was called Daisy said, as she held out her hand to him. ‘I’m Daisy. It’s nice to meet you.’

‘Thomas,’ Thomas introduced himself shortly.

Daisy smiled awkwardly when he didn’t say more than that, and gestured to her friend. ‘And this is Ivy, probably the biggest fan of _Rising Moon_ you will ever meet.’

Ivy giggled at that and nodded towards Thomas. ‘Nice to meet you.’

Thomas nodded back, feeling a little awkward because of how obviously tipsy this girl was, and looked at Tom for guidance.

‘Daisy and Ivy are friends with the guys from the band,’ he said. ‘They always try to come to every gig. We met at one of the shows, actually.’

Daisy giggled. ‘We became friends with the band after all of Ivy’s attempts at stalking, more like,’ she said.

Thomas smiled. He could already tell Daisy was the calmer and the more down-to-earth one of the two, and therefore the one he would like the most.

‘Do you know the band too?’ she asked.

Tom shook his head. ‘No, this is the first time Thomas has seen them. But I think he likes them!’

‘I do,’ Thomas confirmed, deciding to commit to the conversation properly now that he was technically forced to be part of it. ‘They’re called _Rising Moon_, you said?’

Daisy nodded. ‘Yeah. They’re a bit… rough, sometimes, but I like it. I think it’s cool. Have you met the guys yet?’

Thomas shook his head, and beside him, Tom laughed. ‘That was actually my other surprise for you. A little further down in the back of the club, there’s a small sort of dressing room. I expect they’re there now, and I’m taking you to meet them!’

It wasn’t what Thomas expected. That he couldn’t deny. But it was a cool surprise and he saw how happy it made Tom that he planned this for Thomas, so he smiled and decided to play along. After all, it was a chance to meet the singer he thought was so beautiful, see him from a little closer, and that was enough to excite him, even if it made him dreadfully nervous at the same time. What if Ivy or Daisy was his girl, and he did or said something stupid? What if he read the signs the wrong way?

Still, he couldn’t help but think, it was a chance.

‘Okay!’ he said. ‘Sounds great! Are we going now?’

Tom checked the time on his watch, and nodded as he looked up again. ‘Yeah, I think they’re done changing now. So we’ll go now.’

Thomas nodded, and slid from his barstool. His heart pounded in his chest nervously at the thought of seeing the singer from up-close, but he decided to blame it on the alcohol instead.

Still feeling nervous, he fell into step behind Ivy and Tom, who walked out in front of him. They pushed their way through the crowd all the way to the front, until they came to a stop in front of a door next to the small space where the band had just performed. On the door was a sign that said _“Authorized Access Only”_, which Thomas guessed included Tom.

Tom pushed the door open, and the four of them stepped into a small, narrow corridor that wasn’t nearly as fancy as the club itself. Everything was dull and grey, and it smelled a little worse than in the club, a little mouldy and sweaty. As soon as the door closed, though, the loud music and noise from the club was drowned out, and Thomas let out a breath of relief. At least they could talk normally now, and he didn’t feel as if he were going deaf anymore. Aside from the smell and the fact that he didn’t get to hear the singer’s lovely voice anymore, it was a big improvement from the actual club.

‘This way,’ Tom said, before he led the way with Ivy by his side.

Daisy fell into step beside Thomas, and looked up at him with a smile. ‘Tom said you liked them, right?’ she asked. ‘The band?’

‘I did, yeah,’ Thomas responded, feeling oddly at ease with the girl despite only having known her for five minutes. Maybe it was her kind smile, or the sweet, dependable, trustworthy look in her eyes, or the way she was calm and seemed to be genuinely interested in him, but whatever it was, he liked it. ‘They were very good,’ he said. ‘I think this is Tom’s best band yet.’

‘And don’t you forget it!’ Tom joked in front of him, after which he looked before him again and led the way.

Thomas chuckled. It seemed Tom thought that this was his best band just as he much as he did, and was very proud of them.

‘They’re nice guys,’ Daisy said then, as she undoubtedly detected Thomas’ uneasiness. ‘I think you’ll get along.’

‘If he doesn’t, then he and I are gonna have a good, long talk,’ Tom commented in front of them. Daisy giggled, and looked up at Thomas with her wide, happy eyes. ‘Where did you two meet?’ she asked.

Thomas blinked. There was a subject he didn’t like to talk about. But Daisy seemed nice and genuinely interested in him, and so he decided to give it a go. ‘At work,’ he said. ‘We both work at Grantham Industries and he was already there when I first started. He was practically the first person to start talking to me, and it made things easier I suppose. But Tom has always been interested in music, so it came as no surprise when he eventually left to go do something in the music business. He’s been manager for a couple bands now, but _Rising Moon_ is the latest one he signed, I guess. And the best.’

Daisy laughed, and nodded understandingly. ‘How are things at Grantham Industries?’ she asked then. ‘I’ve heard good things, but it’s a big company, isn’t it?’

Thomas nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s definitely very big, and powerful in the city. But I don’t want to work there for the rest of my life. I want to do… Something else. Something bigger, and more enjoyable.’

The statement surprised him. He hadn’t expected it to be so easy to talk to Daisy that he would let that slip out, but it was. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

‘Why?’ Daisy asked then. ‘Don’t you like it there?’

Thomas looked down at his feet, realizing he already said more than he had wanted to. He had only met the girl ten minutes ago, he wasn’t gonna spill out his whole life-story for her, for heaven’s sake! She didn’t need to know how his boss, Carson, always seemed to have it out for him, and how the job seemed to less than rewarding lately, especially after Tom had left. Not yet anyway. ‘I guess I don’t want to be stuck in that place for the rest of my days,’ he said shortly.

Daisy seemed to hear the tone of his voice, heard that he didn’t want to talk about it, and she nodded, dropping the subject. She stared down at her feet as they walked further, thinking of a new topic to talk about, but it wasn’t necessary anymore before Tom came to a stop in front of a door on their left side. ‘This is it,’ he said proudly. ‘This is their… dressing room of sorts, I guess.’

Thomas nodded, feeling much more curious all of a sudden. He thought back of the moment he first saw the singer of the band, how he seemed so in his element, so natural on that stage, and suddenly felt a lot warmer again. He couldn’t wait to meet him.

Tom knocked on the door. ‘Guys!’ he yelled. ‘Are you decent!?’

It took a while before an answer came, but then someone yelled: ‘Depends on who’s asking!’

Tom laughed, Daisy and Ivy giggled, and Thomas felt a smirk growing on his face. Of course a band consisting of guys as young as them, would rather make jokes that weren’t entirely clean.

‘Come on,’ Tom chuckled, as he opened the door. He walked in ahead of them, and Thomas followed him with Ivy and Daisy.

It was a small dressing room, very small actually, Thomas noted, but that didn’t make it any less cozy and comfortable. There was a sofa, a small TV with a PlayStation, a mini-fridge, and even a small wardrobe with some clothes in it. They managed to squeeze a whole lot of things into such a tiny dressing room, but it was nice. Thomas smiled.

The guys from the band had clearly made themselves at home in the room. The guy with the ginger hair and the serious expression was chilling on the sofa, next to the guy with the short curly hair. They were both wearing sweatpants, different from what they had worn on stage, and were staring at the show that was currently playing on the TV with only mild interest. The blond guy with the blue eyes was standing by the wardrobe, sorting out some clothes, and smiled as Thomas and the rest came into the room.

The singer, however, was sitting on the edge of the small table that was only just standing next to the TV on the wall, and he was stuffing a pastry in his face as if he hadn’t eaten in a year. A small beer can was standing next to him on the table, and his eyes lit up as he saw who came into the room.

‘Jimmy!’ Ivy exclaimed, as she hurried past Tom and Daisy and ran towards him.

The boy, whose name was apparently Jimmy, grinned and put his plate down, holding out his arms for her. ‘Hey! Come here.’

Thomas couldn’t help the wave of disappointment flowing through him, even if he reminded himself that in the end, that was only good.

‘Who’s this, Tom?’ the ginger boy asked then.

Tom smiled. ‘Guys, this is Thomas, a friend of mine. I wanted him to see you tonight, because you’ve been playing so well lately and I thought it was time to celebrate the fact that I’ve signed the best band I heard lately!’

The cheering that followed was enough to startle Thomas a little, enough to make him a bit annoyed and figure that the guys from the band had agreed to try and make him deaf. At the same time he was happy for them though, as he figured that Tom hadn’t told them that he was going to sign them before tonight, and had come here to do just that. This was as much a surprise for them as it was for him.

The boys engulfed Tom in a big group hug, still cheering loudly, and while Daisy and Ivy giggled wildly, Thomas stepped aside a little to avoid the messy situation he suddenly found himself in. Tom laughed, clearly enjoying all the positive attention he was receiving.

‘Jesus Christ, Tom, do you mean it?’ the boy that Ivy had called Jimmy, said then.

Tom nodded proudly. ‘Sure I do. _Rising Moon_ is mine now!’

The blond boy chuckled, and walked over to the mini-fridge to get a can of beer for everyone. ‘We’ll drink to that!’ he said cheerfully.

As Thomas received his own can of beer, Tom took a stand next to him and said: ‘Guys, I think a proper introduction is needed here.’

The four lads from the band nodded, and Tom smiled, proudly nodding toward the ginger-haired boy, the curly-haired boy, and the blond boy. ‘Thomas, that’s Alfred, Andy and William. They play the lead-guitar, the bass and the drums in the band.’

‘Indeed we do,’ the boy whose name was Andy said. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’

He seemed to genuinely think so, and Thomas shook his hand with a smile. He could tell Andy was a nice lad and just like it was with Daisy, Thomas felt immediately at ease with him. ‘Likewise.’

‘How did you like the show?’ William asked.

Thomas grinned. ‘It was great! I think Tom really hit the jackpot with you guys.’

‘Well, that’s what we’re doing it for, isn’t it?’ a cheery voice said then. Thomas looked up, and his heart started to beat faster in his chest again immediately as Jimmy walked up to him with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, his hand held out, which was really very bad.

‘Jimmy,’ the boy said, introducing himself. ‘Hi.’

Tom chuckled and Thomas shook his hand, hoping his wasn’t too sweaty when he did so. ‘Thomas,’ he said with a smile, uncomfortably aware of everyone’s gaze on them.

‘Will you come to our next show?’ Jimmy asked.

Thomas stayed silent for a moment, wondering if that was just a normal question, or if Jimmy meant something more by asking it. He wasn’t sure.

He was sure of something else though, and that was that Jimmy was even more gorgeous up-close than Thomas had thought him to be from afar. Everything about him just seemed so… full of life. Like Jimmy was genuinely happy to be alive, happy to be here, and so full of hope and dreams that it completely radiated off of him. Thomas wondered if he could be blinded by a person, because if he could, that person would surely be Jimmy.

It had surely been a while since he’d known something so dangerous.

‘Eh maybe, we’ll see…’ he started, before he was interrupted by Tom. ‘Sure he will!’ he said. ‘I’m gonna take Thomas to a lot more gigs from now on.’

Jimmy laughed at that, his friends joining him, and Thomas grinned. He was glad that the attention was taken off of him for a while though, and let himself fall down on the sofa with an already more relaxed feeling. ‘Do you want some more beer?’ Jimmy asked then, once he finished laughing. It was clear he already had a little much to drink himself, but Thomas couldn’t blame him. It was his party after all, and he managed to get signed.

‘I still have beer,’ he said, holding up his can.

Jimmy shrugged. ‘Okay then,’ he said, before turning around and continuing his celebration with Ivy, Alfred, Andy and William. Thomas watched him a little from the sofa, noticing how easy normal conversation was for Jimmy. It was like he didn’t even have to try, people liked him no matter what he did, and it just came so natural to him. It almost made Thomas jealous, it was never that easy for him.

Tom interrupted his thoughts then, when he fell down on the sofa next to him, and Daisy took a seat on the armrest. Thomas smiled. ‘Jimmy is a natural in human conversation, isn’t he?’

Tom chuckled. ‘He’s a flirt, I’ll give him that. He likes to have fun.’

Thomas frowned, looking back at Jimmy. It was just like he thought, and hanging around Jimmy was more dangerous than he thought. So why did he like him so much already, when he knew he better shouldn’t?

‘He’s more outgoing than the rest,’ Daisy added then. ‘It’s why he’s the frontman and lead-singer.’

‘I figured that much,’ Thomas chuckled.

Tom looked at him from beside him. ‘You like him, don’t you?’

Thomas flushed, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous again. He thought he hid it better. ‘What makes you say that?’ he asked, looking up at his friend, trying to sound as casual as he could muster.

‘I can tell,’ Tom said softly, as if to let him know that it was okay. Thomas scowled. ‘You haven’t looked at anyone like that since you and Philip split up.’

The comment was enough for Thomas to send him into a startled coughing fit, and it was only once he was able to catch his breath again, that he answered. ‘That was different,’ he mumbled.

‘Who’s Philip?’ Daisy asked curiously. Thomas stayed silent, determined not to answer and to make it clear to Tom that he shouldn’t either, when Tom had already opened his mouth and started to talk. ‘Philip is Thomas’ ex-boyfriend. They split up about a year ago.’

Too much personal information, Thomas thought angrily, while determinedly staring down at his lap hard enough that he could burn holes in his pants.

‘Oh,’ Daisy replied softly, looking over at him. ‘You like boys?’ she asked, despite it being obvious.

‘I do, yeah. But I don’t think we need to talk about this now,’ Thomas interrupted her harshly, while a wave of horror flowed through him as he thought of all the things Tom could have said. About how he hadn’t been interested in anyone for the past year since Philip had broken his heart, about how he hid inside his apartment under the blankets for the first month after their break-up, about how he had obviously a little trouble trusting someone new. Why should anyone he only just met need to know all those things!?

Tom nodded in understanding, and Daisy didn’t ask any further questions, much to Thomas’ relief. He looked over at Jimmy, saw how Ivy was standing annoyingly close to him and noticed how it irritated him, and suddenly wondered if he was more over Philip than he thought he was. Or had he just started to fancy someone before he was even ready to? How would he know he was ready? Could he even trust Jimmy? He certainly hadn’t felt like he could trust any man who had flirted with him in the past year.

‘What’s…’ He paused, cleared his throat, and started again. ‘What’s the relationship with Jimmy and Ivy? Are they together?’

Tom and Daisy followed his gaze, looking at them, and Daisy shook her head. ‘No, no, they’re not. Ivy wants to be, but Jimmy just wants to have fun, and she knows that. I don’t think he actually wants to be with her.

‘Oh,’ Thomas said dumbly. He stared at Jimmy and saw how he looked back at him, before he took a little step to the side, away from her. Immediately, Thomas’ heart started to beat faster again, and he wondered if it was a good idea to get his hopes up. If Jimmy was the flirt that Daisy said he was, he would only get his heart broken again, that much was obvious. He couldn’t help it though, when everything about Jimmy was so fascinating and endearing.

With a sigh, he stood up, noticing his sudden need to get some air and the panic that washed over him. ‘I’m… I’m just gonna go outside for a bit,’ he mumbled awkwardly, hoping it wasn’t too obvious for the others that he liked Jimmy. What would they say about that?

‘Sure,’ Tom said. ‘Do you want me to go with you?’

Thomas shook his head as he made his way towards the door. ‘No, that’s okay.’ With that, he opened the door and stumbled outside into the cool corridor, somehow feeling everyone’s eyes on him. He closed the door quickly, and found a door that led outside without having to go back through the club soon enough. Outside, he gasped, catching his breath, and suddenly felt incredibly thankful for the cool evening air. It was a good thing he didn’t stay inside, because a panicked feeling spread through him very quickly all of a sudden.

Philip and he had had it all. For a while, they had had the perfect relationship where they talked and laughed, supported each other in difficult times, and even moved into an apartment together. They went strong for three years without fail, and Thomas couldn’t remember ever feeling happier in his whole life than he had in those three years. But then Philip had started to act weird, not like himself, and Thomas knew that Philip kept things from him, didn’t tell him everything anymore. Not like they used to. Thomas had known something was wrong, but it was a certain text that Philip had received one day, that really ruined things. Thomas had read it because he wanted to know what was wrong, and it was a text that had come from a girl called Amelia. When Thomas had confronted Philip about it, he became angry because Thomas had gone through his texts, but he didn’t deny anything. That same night, Philip was gone, and he had left Thomas alone. Thomas spent the first month alone in his house, not wanting to see or speak to anyone, until an old friend of his who worked at Grantham Industries as well, Phyllis Baxter, had knocked on his door, worried to speak to him. She paid more visits after that, and although Thomas was reluctant to let her in at first, she was there until he felt he could take care of himself again. For a while he felt like he was at the lowest point of his life, and spent his days in bed. He cried during the nights, unable to understand how things could’ve gone so wrong between him and Philip, the boy he once thought was the love of his life. It was the worst time of his life.

Gradually, though, he started to pull himself together again with the help of the woman he had known since he was young, and he couldn’t be more thankful for her. Thanks to her, he started to feel healthy again, and when the time was right, she helped him get his job in order again and look for a smaller, one person apartment.

She kept visiting him a lot, and still did. But the wounds on his heart were still there, and it had taken him a whole year to get over Philip. Even now, he wasn’t sure he was completely over him. He felt vulnerable most of the time, which was why Carson’s rather harsh comments got to him more than he was used to, and he felt like he had trouble trusting people sometimes. He often wondered if all they wanted to do was hurt him. He didn’t feel that way with Tom. Tom was his friend and had never given him reason to doubt him, so why would he?

Now, with Jimmy, it was different. Thomas knew he hadn’t known him for very long, and yet, he liked him. His feelings scared him. Especially since Daisy had told him what a flirt Jimmy was. Who was to stop Jimmy from playing games with him? From hurting him? He didn’t think it was possible to like someone he had met not so long ago so much, and it frightened him.

He felt tears sting in his eyes, and let a few of them roll down his cheeks before he wiped them away. Now was not the time to act like he was weak, he had just gone outside to catch his breath a little and gather his thoughts. If he didn’t go back inside soon, Tom would probably start to worry. Thomas sighed, taking a deep breath and wiping away the last of his tears, before pushing the door open again and going back inside. He walked through the corridor, enjoying the silence there before he had to go back into the dressing room and rejoin the messy, cheerful chaos of the celebration. He could hear their voices on the other side of the door, and took a deep breath before pushing the handle down and opening the door.

He didn’t, however, expect to find the dressing room so empty.

The guys from the band and Ivy were gone, and it was only Tom and Daisy who were still sitting on the sofa, talking in soft, hushed voices. When he came in, Tom looked up quickly.

‘There you are!’ he said with a hint of relief in his voice. ‘We were starting to worry, I wanted to come look for you.’

Thomas took a deep breath, and said with a steady voice: ‘There’s no need for that. I’m fine.’

‘You’re sure?’ Tom asked with a worried look in his eyes, as he knew what was going on.

Thomas nodded and asked: ‘Where’s everyone?’ He took a seat on the armrest, just like Daisy had done earlier.

‘They left,’ Tom responded. ‘It was getting late, and the boys wanted to get home.’

‘It is getting pretty late,’ Thomas agreed. ‘I think… I think I’m gonna go home as well, if that’s alright with you.’

‘Of course,’ Tom said while looking up at him, still looking a little worried. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’

Thomas shook his head and brushed him off. ‘Nah, that won’t be necessary. I think I’m still gonna pay Phyllis a visit.’ All his thinking from earlier, when he was outside, had left him pretty upset. He thought paying her a visit and talking things over about tonight might do him good. He could always count on her to offer good perspective.

Tom nodded. ‘Okay then. We’ll talk tomorrow, yeah?’

‘Yeah,’ Thomas answered, relieved that Tom didn’t press and asked more questions. He stood up from the armrest of the sofa and checked his pockets to see if he had everything, before he turned around to leave. ‘See you tomorrow, Tom,’ he said, while opening the door again.

‘Yeah,’ Tom responded.

‘It was nice meeting you,’ Daisy’s voice sounded then. ‘Hopefully we’ll see each other again soon.’

She sounded sincere; Thomas could tell that she meant it. It made him feel a little warmer and more comfortable, a little bit more okay, and he looked over his shoulder to smile at her. ‘Yeah,’ he said, and he meant it. Daisy was a nice girl, and he liked her.

He left then, closing the door behind him and walking through the corridor with his hands in his pockets towards the backdoor he had just used a minute ago. He let out a sigh, thinking that he still had a pretty nice evening with good music and nice people, despite his little upset moment outside. He was glad to feel better again, and so soon already, and pushed the backdoor open with a smile on his face.

He was surprised however, to find Jimmy outside by a van that said _“Rising Moon”_ on the side in big, painted purple letters. ‘Hey,’ he said out of surprise, before he had a chance to stop himself.

Jimmy looked up and smiled friendly. ‘Hey. Didn’t know you were still here. I thought you’d left just now.’

Thomas put his hands in his pockets and let out a small breath that formed a little cloud in the cold evening air. He felt a bit nervous, being alone with Jimmy, but at the same time he was happy to have a chance to talk to him without other people around. ‘No, no, I just wanted to get some air. But I am leaving now. What are you doing?’

Jimmy sighed, sounding a bit annoyed, and for a moment Thomas was worried it had something to do with him, but then Jimmy started to answer. ‘Andy, Alfred and William have already left. They said they needed to get home. And now I’m still here on my own.’

Thomas chuckled, not expecting Jimmy to express bitterness toward his fellow bandmates. ‘Really? Tom said you get along fairly well.’

‘Oh, we do,’ Jimmy answered easily. ‘But not when they leave early and I have to load in all the instruments by myself.’

‘I can understand that,’ Thomas laughed, starting to feel more at ease with Jimmy now that they had reached such an easy topic. ‘Do you… Do you need a hand?’

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. ‘Would you do that? You’d be a lifesaver!’

Thomas chuckled, nodding. ‘Yeah, of course.’ He walked over to where Jimmy was standing, and started to help him load in the heavy drumset that belonged to Andy.

‘Thank you for this,’ Jimmy said sincerely. ‘It takes a lot longer when you have to do it on your own.’

‘I don’t doubt that,’ Thomas chuckled. ‘But at least it warms you up a little.’

Jimmy laughed. ‘Don’t worry about that, alcohol can do that too,’ he joked, although Thomas wondered if there wasn’t a little bit of truth in his words.

They worked in silence for a while, but Thomas found it increasingly harder to keep his eyes off Jimmy. He looked truly beautiful in the vague light from the streetlamp, it almost made his hair glow and make it seem like he had a halo around his head, and it was taking Thomas’ breath away. He was so concentrated on the other boy and how perfect he looked in the evening light, that it startled him when Jimmy asked him a question.

‘Did you enjoy the gig tonight?’

Thomas looked up and nodded. ‘I did, yeah. It was really good.’

‘I’m so glad Tom finally signed us,’ Jimmy rambled. ‘We’ve been waiting for it for two months now, but he kept saying how he wasn’t gonna promise us anything. I’m thinking maybe he kept pushing us to be better, and play better, so that we would be really good and he would sign us.’

‘How did you meet Tom?’ Thomas asked.

Jimmy smiled, looking up at him. ‘We met him a few months ago, in a bar somewhere, where we were playing. We weren’t as good as we are now then, and our audience wasn’t much. Then Tom came in and he was interested, but he did want us to be better. When he told us he’d been manager before we immediately made the idea to be better, so we could impress him. We started playing songs, covers, and we started practicing in the garage at my house.’

Thomas raised his eyebrows and laughed. ‘You were a garage band?’

‘Don’t bully me,’ Jimmy warned, laughing. ‘Anyway, Tom came to our rehearsals sometimes, and recommended us to club- or café-owners, so we got a few gigs. We got better. And I guess tonight was good enough for Tom to officially sign us!’

‘That’s great,’ Thomas said sincerely. ‘I’m happy for you.’

‘Yeah?’ Jimmy asked. ‘Thank you. So where do you work then?’

Thomas sighed and cleared his throat. It was a normal question, so he supposed he could give a normal answer as well. ‘I work at Grantham Industries. It’s not as spectacular as being in a band, but…’

‘Well, no,’ Jimmy laughed, before turning serious again. ‘But Grantham Industries is one of the biggest and most powerful companies of the area. Everyone’s heard of them. I’d say it’s impressive.’

Thomas smiled softly, feeling oddly proud, because even though Tom had said so as well, it somehow felt like it was worth more when Jimmy said it. ‘I suppose…’ he mumbled, while giving Jimmy a hand with a heavy box and loading it into the van together.

‘So I guess we both have cool jobs,’ Jimmy complimented, with a big smile on his face.

Thomas nodded slowly. If that was true, if he looked at it that way, then surely he could live with a… Difficult boss. ‘I suppose I have always wanted something more, though,’ he admitted unsurely.

Jimmy nodded. ‘I can understand that. You want to see something of the world, right?’

‘How do you know?’ Thomas laughed.

‘That’s what most people who say that want,’ Jimmy confessed. ‘And I do too.’

‘Well, it’s easier to do with your job,’ Thomas sighed. ‘You know, you get to go places, for your gigs.’

‘Maybe,’ Jimmy said. ‘We’re not that far yet, alas. Though then we’d miss Ivy and Daisy coming to our gigs.’

Thomas looked up at the boy before him, feeling a bit awkward about the question he wanted to ask. He decided to do it anyway, because he wanted to know so very badly, and asked: ‘So… You like Ivy a lot, then?’

Jimmy laughed at that, but Thomas waited patiently with raised eyebrows, until Jimmy gave a good answer. ‘No,’ he chuckled, ‘No, we’re not together. I guess she’s nice, and we’ve been on a few dates in the past, but it never lead to anything. I don’t know, I… I guess I still have to find the person I want to be with.’

Thomas couldn’t help his heart skipping a beat at that. ‘I see,’ he said.

Jimmy chuckled then, looking over at him. ‘And I definitely talk too much,’ he grinned. ‘What about you? Are you seeing anyone?’

Thomas shook his head, bowing his head as dread already settled in his stomach at having to talk to Jimmy about this difficult subject. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to exactly, not if it meant that he could keep this conversation with Jimmy going, but that didn’t mean it was easy. So far, he had usually avoid this topic with anyone, even just a little. And now he was talking about it with someone he’d only just met that same evening. Though he couldn't help but wonder why exactly, Jimmy had asked that question.

‘I’m not seeing anyone right now,’ he said, while nervously wondering what Jimmy would say if he told him he was gay. ‘I broke up with my boyfriend a year ago. It was difficult.’

Jimmy remained silent, only nodded with an understanding look on his face. Thomas gulped, turning his back to Jimmy and finishing the last of the loading.

‘Sorry,’ Jimmy mumbled apologetic behind him. ‘I shouldn’t have asked.’

‘It’s okay,’ Thomas forced himself to say. ‘It took me a while to get over him, I’m still not sure if I’m completely there, but so far, I’m doing okay.’

‘Good,’ Jimmy said behind him, sounding determined. ‘I’m glad.’

Feeling shocked, Thomas turned around to face him. ‘Good?’ he asked surprised, as it was the last thing he expected. ‘You mean that you don’t mind that I…’

‘Like men?’ Jimmy chuckled, finishing his sentence. ‘Come on, it’s 2019. And why would I, when I’m bisexual myself?’

Thomas could feel his cheeks heating at that, new hope and fear washing over him, and Jimmy chuckled. ‘Why hide who you are, right?’

Thomas could think of a few good reasons, but he didn’t tell Jimmy. Jimmy chuckled, shaking his head, and slammed the backdoors of the van shut before wiping his hands off on his jeans. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Now that that’s done.’ He looked up at Thomas. ‘Thanks for your help,’ he said, sounding sincere. That went a lot faster than it would have, had I done it all by myself.’

‘No problem,’ Thomas said, well-meant.

Jimmy looked up at him, and Thomas took in a deep breath as he saw how full of life Jimmy seemed to be again.

‘Will you come to our next gig too?’ Jimmy asked.

Thomas shrugged, letting out a laugh. ‘I have a feeling that Tom will drag me with him. So yes, probably.’

‘Well, I would surely like it,’ Jimmy said honestly, and Thomas couldn’t help but think it had somehow cost him a great deal of courage to say those words. A man could dream, right?

‘I would like to see you again,’ Jimmy added then, successfully messing up Thomas’ thoughts.

‘Well,’ he managed with a little difficulty. ‘I have no choice then, do I?’

Jimmy stayed silent for a moment, looking up at Thomas, and as much as Thomas was afraid of being more straightforward, thinking of his year without Philip, it seemed that Jimmy was a whole lot braver than he was.

‘You see, the thing is…,’ he said. ‘I meant it when I said that I still have to find the person I want to be with.’

Thomas smiled and raised his eyebrows, prompting Jimmy to say more while his heart raced in his chest. Was this really happening, was all he could think. Was this seriously really happening?

‘But I think, to do that, I have to start looking a bit,’ he continued, and God, Tom was right. Jimmy really was a flirt.

Thomas swallowed, knowing that he was making a mistake. He barely even knew Jimmy and this would only get him hurt, like Philip did, like he was so afraid of. But God, did he long for Jimmy.

‘Crap,’ he groaned, almost angrily. ‘Do you mean it?’

Jimmy smiled sweetly, teasing. ‘Of course I mean it,’ he said softly, before closing the distance between them and pressing his lips against Thomas’ and wrapping his arms around his neck.

Thomas’ heart was racing, but he smiled, kissing Jimmy back with his hands on either side of Jimmy’s face and all thoughts of fear and Philip temporarily forgotten. It was completely new for him, kissing a guy he’d only just met, and it wasn’t long before thoughts of Philip flooded him again. He pulled away, taking a step back. ‘…Jimmy…’

‘Hmm, I know,’ the boy responded, opening his eyes slowly and looking at him. ‘The douchebag. Don’t worry. We’ll take it slow.’

Thomas stayed silent, the worry and fear still fresh in his mind, as he wondered if this was him getting over Philip. But now, he wanted to, he didn’t want to let fear rule him any longer, as Jimmy pressed his thumb against his lips. He felt safe and calm right here, right now, in this moment with Jimmy, warm.

‘Okay,’ he mumbled, even if Jimmy didn't seem like the kinda guy to take things slowly, and took a step closer to him to press their lips together once more. And in that moment, when he did, he wasn’t sure if he was over Philip yet, but it was a beginning, and more than he thought he had.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! Comments make my day!


End file.
